a love letter to public transit

I don’t drive, yet I have always managed to get where I need to go, thanks to a wonderful thing called public transit. In smaller cities and large metropolitan areas alike there is usually always a bus for me to catch and a schedule to follow.

I don’t mind the rigidity of having to catch a bus or train a specific time, in fact in my world of loving to plan and schedule it makes me very happy. And because I always plan to be early I am rarely bothered by a late bus as I know I will still be on time.

There is one thing that I have learned taking transit in multiple cities and provinces however, and that is that everyone thinks that their city’s transit system is the worst.

I have stood shoulder to shoulder on buses that I didn’t think could fit any more people and still more keep coming in and I have been the only person on a bus for almost 15 minutes. I have caught the first bus in the morning and one of the last at night as well as almost every time in between. I have had bus drivers that I see almost every day and I recognize and ones that I fear a little for my life while on them and yet I still am so grateful for what buses can do.

I don’t see my time on buses ending any time soon, rather my commute is probably going to be getting much longer and I am not dreading it as there is something so nice about travelling. If I am not reading I love just looking out the windows, either at the landscape around me or the cool houses and public spaces that I pass. Public transit is also great for people watching and there are either new people to watch or you can keep up with the people that you see every day yet have never spoken a word to in your life.

This is also not to say that I haven’t only used public transit in big cities. I have taken buses that only travel in one direction so my travel to work took twice as long as my trip home and waited for almost an hour for buses that were rarely there.

I feel like there are two different types of people in the world; those who have never taken public transit and those who rely on it. Since my first day of university I have used public transit almost every day and I don’t know what I would do without it.

I think if you don’t ever take the bus or train you should try it, take a day, don’t worry about driving yourself and enjoy the ride.

A lot of hate and dislike surrounds public transit, but I will just wait for my bus, savour the time I have and read my book.